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Patients continued to seek Botox treatments through the economic downturn because the shots are less expensive than plastic surgery and do not require time off from work, says Dr. Malcolm Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dentists, gynecologists, emergency doctors and other health care practitioners have sought to capitalize on the treatment's popularity but lack the specialized training of a plastic surgeon. Poorly administered injections can leave shiny foreheads, visible ripples and lack of expression.

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A man who masqueraded as a plastic surgeon has been ordered to serve four years and three months in prison. The man injected more than 50 people with Botox or silicone in their cheeks, lips or foreheads, according to a news agency in Germany, and the victims reported swelling, pain and numbness.

Average costs for the most common cosmetic procedures range from a few hundred dollars for a nonsurgical procedure such as Botox injections to more than $6,000 for a face-lift, according to this analysis, based on information from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and plastic surgeon Darrick E. Antell. Regardless of the procedure, patients should choose a qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon.

Significant weight loss can result in deformities of the breast, but mastopexy to correct them often leaves a long scar, particularly after parenchymal reshaping and dermal suspension mastopexy, says Dr. J. Peter Rubin, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Dennis C. Hammond, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in private practice, describes an internal thread suspension technique that minimizes scarring.

The plastic surgeon who commissioned a controversial music video featuring a young man who wanted rhinoplasty to please a girl canceled a contest for a similar video. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons called the first video "inappropriate" and looked into whether it involved ethics violations.

The second person in the U.S. to receive a face transplant -- a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran and former heroin addict -- continues to recover and says the surgery has given him a new lease on life. "When you replace a missing part, it restores a person's humanity," said plastic surgeon Bohdan Pomahac, who led the surgery. "For someone with no human facial features, it gives them the appearance of looking human again."